Gishua_

The stairs are already there but are crew stairs and not finished. You can use them for Muster. Some people say they'll be finished and become passengers stairs during the Royal's next dry dock. I'll believe it when I see it. Having sailed the Royal for 44 days so far over three cruises, it's not a big deal one way or the other IMHO.

I agree. We didn't even notice it on the Regal. I find it funny that so many people gripe about this.

Thanks for the comparison. We have also thought about booking NCL but have never gone through with it. The inside of their ships look cheap (from what I have seen on youtube) and now with your review and considering we are the same age, I don't think we will ever.

I have to admit while the entertainment side does have a drawl... we are always asleep way earlier than we think we will be. we usually have pretty exhausting days.

Thanks again.

If having shade is important than I would with princess as their aft balconies have shade where almost all of the S class ships' aft balconies are exposed. Really after that its just preference. Which one will include more of on OBC, Included beverage packages? included gratuities?

Either way its going to be amazing.

I'm well aware that sushi has been around for a while, but the reality is most people haven't been eating it that long and it is still trendy in a lot of places. I'm not sure why you say "respectable modern cities" lol. I'm sure most cities and towns consider themselves modern and respectable. BTW, I grew up and still live the DC metro area and travel to NYC often where there are tons of great places to eat so I've been around great restaurants my whole life. Sushi isn't something that most people eat regularly and the reality is what is served in the U.S. is not real sushi. It's a very Americanized version of what is served in Japan. Most Americans wouldn't touch real Japanese sushi. And, from what's been posted on this thread, those that do eat it, feel that Sushi on 5 is overpriced.

 

I'm also sure the French would love to know you think crepes are "fair food".

"respectable modern Cities" because your opinion seems small city minded. I doubt anyone thinks Small City/town america is modern nor respectable. Maybe not in your circle of people you know but a lot of people I know, work with, are friends with and live near eat sushi on a regular basis. Maybe its your age group? I am also well aware of how Americanized our sushi is, I have been to and eaten sushi in Japan.

Yes, it most likely is over priced, just like the spa, excursions, alcoholic beverages, etc... They are all still around.

Give them time and there will be no free restaurants on cruise ships. Think back when there were no extra fee restaurants. It wasn't that long ago. Now we moving into paying for every item on the menu instead of a fee.

I think this is the way the industry is going. Every restaurant will be pay for every item and upon booking you will have options on what you want included or dont.

I just want to know why they think everyone would prefer sushi? I can't eat a lot of what's on the menu (shellfish allergy in particular) and don't like most of the rest. Personally, I think sushi is just a bit trendy and a lot of people like to say they eat it. I wonder what they'll change sushi on 5 to in a few years.

Sushi has been "trendy" for quite awhile.. the better part of 2 decades. All respectable metropolitan cities around the word still have new sushi restaurants opening all the time. It defiantly is not a new trend. Plus, most if not all other lines have a sushi restaurant. Those dry rolls that celebrity threw out at the buffet as an after thought didn't cut it.

A lot of people like myself included love sushi and eat it more than a couple times a month. Soups, sandwiches and crepes on the other hand are rarely something I eat, unless I am sick or at a fair for the latter option.

I never had a desire to visit Bistro on 5. I however absolutely will be visiting Sushi on 5 on my upcoming cruise. I personally think it has everything to do with Celebrity continuing to make their ships more appealing to their "Modern Luxury" branding. As an individual who is a target in their marketing scheme and was actually the reason I wanted to start sailing with Celebrity, I am excited they got rid of a boring bistro place and added a sushi on 5.

You seem to be confusing traditional vs. select dining options.

 

Traditional dining means you have a fixed time for dining and you must show up at that time........or up to 15-20 minutes late. If earlier or later than your fixed time, you will not be allowed into the MDR for dinner since all tables will have commenced serving.

With Select dining you can show up whenever you want when the MDR is open.

I am not confusing them, I am well aware of the difference. My point is while I was on Princess we had traditional dining assigned to us but we never went to the same dining room at the same time ever. We went to whichever dining room we felt like sometimes early sometimes late and said we would like to eat and they always said, "ok, how many?" They never enforced it by any means.

I know the difference I am just wondering if Celebrity is a stickler about what type of dining I am actually am assigned to. If I am assigned to traditional and I show up at anytime dining, are they really going to check my card to see?

I'm having the same problem with refund as well. I found a cheaper price with an online site and wanted to cancel with Celebrity. I called at 3pm and it is now 5:11 pm have not received a call back. If I booked the cruise on line myself instead of using a celebrity TA I would not have this problem. They're telling me the reservation is locked by her and only she can access the booking. After reading what you had to go through I decided to not cancel the cruise. Final payment is 7/18 and I don't want to tie my money up. You live and learn.:mad:

With such little time left, if you don't have funds in another account, I would leave the reservation alone.

It seems the disconnect is in what department the reservation is made. Some departments can transfer deposits, payments, excursions, extras from one cruise to another. However, other departments cannot. The only option is to refund and wait. Its so weird and sounds crazy. Its why my 2nd week of my original B2B was able to be canceled and funds transferred but my first week was made in some department over the phone (called number on website) and had to be cancelled and refunded. They reiterated over and over that this was some big exception to the rule and to avoid this in the future it is better to book online. Funny thing is I originally wanted to book it online but their website was down when I booked it. Just glad its over.

You can show up, but you can't eat at select dining.

Can I show up whenever I want to the traditional dining (1st floor) and wait for a table if needed? We are only 2. On the Regal Princess we showed up whenever to all three dining rooms and they sat us with 5 mins every time.

No.

Ill post this questions here instead of a new thread. There is no 'select dining' available on our cruise and the only option I have is traditional late seating. Can I just show up to the select dining MDR (2nd floor?) and eat there whenever I want?

UPDATE:

After spending the better part of 2 hours on the phone, politely and firmly expressing my concern and frustration with the whole situation. The funds were finally moved to my MED cruise without being refund. That is great and I am so happy.

It is a shame that it took this long, countless phone calls and could not be done originally as requested. According to 3 different supervisors this was an impossible task. One said, "sir that exception is never made and cannot physically happen in our system." The very helpful guy that helped me yesterday had to do a lot of digging and get permission and exceptions but it worked. Spoke to his supervisor and praised him for his help and confirmed with the supervisor that all is well. Now I have my email and paper copy confirmation that I have a zero balance due, plus some screen shots of my account on the website.

I think i'll finally be able to sleep a little better.

Thanks for all your input and good luck to all of you waiting for a refund.

When you overnight in Athens, is there a time that you have to be back on board the first night? Or are you free to come back as late as you would like?

Thank you for all the great info.

I had a B2B Caribbean cruise booked on the Reflection in November. Cancelled them before any penalty. Booked an 11 N eastern Med cruise in October. The second week of the B2B was easily transferred to the new reservation, no issues, no refund just a simple call. The first week however was not able to be transferred because they said I originally called to book that cruise instead of booking it online, which I did because their website wouldn't take the payment at the time. They said they must refund the money and then when I get it back to go ahead and pay the new Med cruise off, which I was annoyed with but so be it.

Now it is 3 weeks on and many phone calls and I still do not have that money, which I need to pay off the med cruise. Final payment is due July 12th. They are giving me an excuse that sometimes our system rejects the refund. So they issued it again and now it has been another 5-7 business days and still nothing. Extremely frustrated and worried. I asked them about the final payment and they said they would give me an extension but I have no trust now with their customer service department. I don't know what to do.

Becoming less and less excited to sail.

Same exact thing has just happened to me that happened to OP.

Had a B2B Caribbean cruise booked on the Reflection in November. Cancelled them before any penalty. Booked an 11 N eastern Med cruise in October. The second week of the B2B was easily transferred to the new reservation, no issues, no refund just a simple call. The first week however was not able to be transferred because they said I originally called to book that cruise instead of booking it online, which I did because their website wouldn't take the payment at the time. They said they must refund the money and then when I get it back to go ahead and pay the new Med cruise off, which I was annoyed with but so be it.

Now it is 3 weeks on and many phone calls and I still do not have that money, which I need to pay off the med cruise. Final payment is due July 12th. They are giving me the same excuse they gave OP. Sometime our system rejects the refund. So they issued it again and now it has been another 5-7 business days and still nothing. Extremely frustrated and worried. I asked them about the final payment and they said they would give me an extension but I have no trust now with their customer service.

Becoming less and less excited to sail.

Here in the US you can be shot up at work, at the movies, at school, out for a night of fun, at a work party, etc. So really, it is just a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

My point is, you cannot live your life in fear. Its exactly what these type of people want. Live your life and be vigilant and aware of your surroundings, do not live in fear.

Dont be nervous about it. These attacks can happen anywhere, at any time and targeting anyone. You are no more safe in Kusadasi than you are in your home town. If it is not cancelled than have a great day in port. If it is cancelled have a great day at another location or on-board the ship. It is vacation, enjoy it.

I am sure Celebrity will let you know as soon as there is a change, if in fact there is a change.

I am not sure if this helps. If anyone is flying with Turkish Airlines and their flight inbound or flight out is in-between now and July 5th, the airline will refund your ticket or waive any changes. This is on any flight to or connecting through Istanbul.

http://www.turkishairlines.com/en-us/corporate/announcements/announcement/ticket-changes-refunds-and-cancelations-after-istanbul-incidents

What's the big deal? Almost everyone in AQ has a beverage package perk. Just pick up a bottle at any bar on the way back to the room.

THANK YOU!

Not a big deal at all. Pick up your free bottles of water with your package before you head back to the room. If you forget, its not like your fortunate self cant use the extra steps after all the food you most likely ate.

People threatening to book elsewhere because of this? Lolololololololololol

Buh BYE!

Its pretty easy for me to see as to why they are re-branding. You yourself switched over to X awhile ago, you are getting older and the brand is getting ready for the next generation of cruisers. I used to compare X to the likes of a 'Four Seasons" hotel. Dull but nice luxury. HAL pretty much covers this. X is now going for a more 'W' Hotel feel which will usher in the mid age cruisers who don't want to cruise Carnival or Royal. Princess is great but a little conservative in decorations. I (A 30s something working professional with no kids) love X and all my friends (30-45 ish) working professionals with no kids or 1 kid love X too. X is simply adjusting their brand for the current and future demand. While the more conservative X is on its way out with its older customers. BYE.

This is great news! Sorry to the naysayers, times are changing and so is Celebrity. Celebrity's clientele used to be like HAL, now the mix is much better and much more modern. For the 'sophisticated' complainers ... time to move lines.. Hope you move soon to Azamara... enjoy the prices too!

Its just change and change brings complaints. I for one never cruised Princess before until Regal/Royal. Grand class ships seemed closed in and unattractive but now I am a loyal fan. Being in my early 30's maybe princess has the formula for the next generation of mid aged cruisers correct. I for one won't be cruising carnival, RCCL ever again nor am I old enough for HAL. I am also not interested in cruising on a small or in my opinion on an attractive Grand class ship. I remember lurking on these boards in my late teens and the older generation complaining about the big grand class ships. Seems like another page is turning in the generation book and the cruising industry. Maybe in 15-20 years ill be here complaining about the phase out of the Royal class ships.